'Not Today' Movie: Kari Jobe Dedicates Song in Fight Against Human Trafficking
Dove Award-winning and Grammy nominated singer Kari Jobe said she decided to endorse the movie "Not Today," that opens this weekend, with a song because of her passion to fight human trafficking – ministry work that she has been involved with for the last six years.
"It's just an evil, evil situation going on with human trafficking," Jobe told The Christian Post. "A lot of people think it's just happening in other countries but there's a lot going on in America as well."
Producers of "Not Today" are hoping to raise awareness about sex slavery, one of the most critical problems in society today. Today, there are more slaves than at any other time in human history. Roughly 27 million slaves around the world are being exploited for manual and sexual labor against their will. Women and children are the primary victims in this industry, which is estimated to make profits of over $32 billion.
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One of the most exploited groups of people is the Dalits, also called "the untouchables" in India. There are close to 300,000 million of them living in India today, and they have faced over 3,000 years of oppression, degradation and discrimination.
Friends Church in Yorba Linda (President Richard Nixon's parents were charter members) committed $20 million to India's Dalits to help build schools in hopes they can pull the area's children out of vulnerability. Dalits are among the world's most vulnerable to trafficking. To raise awareness, the church made and produced "Not Today," promoted mainly (not exclusively) through churches across the U.S.
The film is a feature film and not a documentary with a story that centers on a 20-year-old American youth, Caden Wells, played by Cody Longo, who is greatly disconnected with the suffering of the world before he randomly decides to travel to Hyderabad, India, with a group of free-spirited friends for a vacation.
Jobe, 32, said she believes the draw for her to fight human trafficking is because she is a woman and she sees such tremendous suffering as the result of the illegal trade. Her song, "What Love Can Do" (produced by fellow Dove Award-winning artist Ed Cash), is featured in the movie's soundtrack.
"I've been involved in a ministry called A21 about abolishing human trafficking and I've been involved in it for six years now," she said. "I think it's such a draw for me because of being a woman. All of it is such Kingdom work."
Along with Jobe, there is an impressive array of ministry partners who have pledged to promote the film.
"Our Christian faith compels us to lift our hands up with conviction and stretch our hands across with compassion," said the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference Hispanic Evangelical Association. "'Not Today' moves us to reconcile sanctification with service, faith with action and righteousness with justice. Whether it's creating a firewall against a caste system that does not recognize the image of God in every human being or lifting a clarion call against human trafficking, 'Not Today' is more than a movie. 'Not Today' stands as a clarion call to do justice in the name of Jesus."
On the Web: http://www.NotTodaytheMovie.com
